Review: Return of the Corinari – Frontiers Saga: Part 2: Rogue Casts #13

Welcome to my first post of 2020!

I wish the first book review were a 5-star for you Happy Readers, but, unfortunately, it’s only a 3.

While this installment of The Frontier Saga was not as spectacular as some have been, it it still worth the read. See details below.

If you are interested in a status update on my doings… well… let’s just say I have lots of ‘plans’ but my willpower is lacking.

I did set myself a goal… a 2020 New Year’s Write-olution as I’ve been calling it on Facebook. That goal is to write 1000 words per day. Every Day.

…and I’ve already failed.. but I’m not giving up! I am setting that as the goal, and will try to keep the ‘AVERAGE’ word-count at 1000/day while keeping the number of failing days at a a minimum.

Wish me luck!

Anyway, on to the review!

Here’s the Amazon Blurb:

Part 2: Episode 13

A host of new allies…
A plethora of advanced technologies…
A daring gamble to advance their forces…
A chance to retake lost worlds once and for all…

The Dusahn have been backed into a corner, barely able to hold the worlds of the Pentaurus cluster, let alone the entire sector. Forced to dig in, they may have to resort to drastic measures to save their fledgling empire.

Captain Scott must use all his military and diplomatic skills to prepare his forces for the final assault on the Dusahn Empire. But he cannot do it alone. He needs help, and lots of it.

And now the review!

Return of the Corinari by Ryk Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The 13th episode of The Frontiers Saga was a decent read, but may have had just a bit too much of everything to make it really ‘great’ at any one part. It was also a two part tale. The first half being empire building and diplomacy culminating in a dramatic combat action scene while the latter half (or maybe just a third) being the full scale invasion/liberation of Takara & Corinar. That’s not a spoiler, really, because it is hinted at from the very start and in the title.

The ebb and flow of the political tension at the start was decently paced. Unfortunately, we get yet another dose of super-equipment-upgrade overload that sometimes happens when new tech is introduced, but this time it was every conceivable technological arena of the Aurora, the Alliance, and its personnel in rapid succession. It was so much that it blurred together in my mind and only one thing stood out enough to pin-point as ‘wow, cool!’ Unfortunately, that got used in two cool scenes and that was it. Hoping for more to come on that in future episodes.

I also suffered from character overload in this book. I barely know who half the players are in the battle scenes. I had no investment in their well-being because of that, so the tension of their duress in combat was not very high. The combat also jumped around a lot in this book, making the final ending less than awesome, which has come to be the hallmark of ‘good’ in this series to my reading sensibilities.

Now, that all sounds like negatives, I know, but if you have read any of my reviews before you know that does not mean it’s a bad book. I just tend to focus on what could be ‘better’. The story and the unfolding of the plot are quite good, and I was surprised (and frustrated, but in a good way) by the ending. I won’t spoil it, but keep in mind that the series is a planned number of books, and the next one is slated to be the last of Part 2: Rogue Castes. The next book is going to be the one that puts the bow on this thing, so I have high expectations for it.

Speaking of that, I have to say that I hope Part 3 (assuming there will be one) does not end up being a ‘surprise, we killed the hero, but he’s not really dead-dead’ kind of thing like part 2 was. I need it to be a continuation of the main characters that I already know and like, too. Ryk writes good characters and great plots, but the cloning thing is just not what I’m looking for in my space shoot-em-ups.

So, there it is. 3 stars and I call it a Decent Lead-Up To The Conclusion Read.

Happy Reading!

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I currently have two self-published works. Both are available on Kindle Unlimited, and on Kindle Owners’ Lending Library for free if you have Amazon Prime. I also have stories in several anthologies, so check those out too!

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